More on my idea of giving

There is something that I thought of as I was doing my last post, but it didn't make it into the message. It was brought home a little more today as I taught a lesson on Fasting.

In the church I belong to, there are two main types of offerings that we make (money wise that is). We have tithing and fast offerings. There is a big difference in them and i want to bring that out. First of all, tithing is an all or nothing thing. Do you pay 10% of your increase or do you not. If you do, then you receive the blessings that the Lord has laid our for obedience to that commandment. It is a wonderful blessing to all those who follow it. I strongly believe that if you live the law of tithing, that the Lord will bless you to be able to take care of your family and financial obligations as long as you are wise in your actions.

The second portion of the offerings we give are fast offerings. When we fast, we then give to the church (at a minimum) the amount of money we would have used for those 2 meals that we have skipped. That money is used to help those in need financially, first in the area that you live in, but if there is extra and others are in need further away, that money can go to help them. This is one of those interesting commandments. There is some leeway in this one. It is one of the ones that the Lord uses to see how faithful you are willing to be in following the spirit of the law.

Take me for instance. I usually skip breakfast, so I don't have to do anything there, and my lunch usually amounts to a sandwich and top ramen on Sundays. Top Ramen is about 8 for $1 and my sandwich is maybe about a dollars worth, if that. Technically, I could pay $2 and say that I was paying my fast offerings. Technically, that is really all the Lord has asked me to do. However, what is the spirit of the fast? Why do we do it?

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been the beneficiary of these fast offerings when I was out of work. It was a great blessing, it allowed us to stay in this area and keep our house. If everyone in the congregation was only giving the types of offerings I was mentioning earlier (my $2), there is no way the Bishop would have been able to help me out. The great thing about fast offerings is that you can give as much or as little as you want. There are times in my life that I have not been able to give, but now is not one of those times. We as a family give more than the minimum because we can. It is a way that we can help those around us above and beyond our normal capacity. It is a wonderful blessing to be able to pay more in fast offerings than I need to. I firmly believe that as we are generous in our fast offerings, the Lord will bless us above and beyond our wildest dreams.

Most of the time these blessings are not monetary in nature. I cannot tell you of the feeling I get when I know that someone who is having a hard time is able to last a little longer because of my help. When we tie the monetary offerings with an offering of service, the reward is immeasurable. Because I choose to willingly help others, I am blessed in return with a clear conscience and a glad heart. Because I am willingly giving of my substance and time, how much better off I am. There is nothing better than a glad heart and clean hands.

I have been impressed over and over again at the willingness to help others that I have seen around me. Because we have the freedom to give, we do, and it makes us happy. It is so completely opposite the feeling I get when I am forced to pay for something that someone may or may not need. When it is forced upon us, we resent and become less willing to give. I guess this is going to get political again (tis that season), but this is the difference I see in the two major sides of the debate (conservative and progressive, not Republican or Democrat). Progressives believe that it is right and just to take away from one group in order to help another. Conservatives believe that, left to themselves, people will help those around them. In forcing to give, we have the blessings of given taken away from us.

I hope that we all will give our time and talents to support those around us who are in need. I hope that we can, through our example, help others to see the joy that we receive through willing giving. I hope that the government can learn to get out of the giving cycle and allow us to once again be the beneficiaries of the blessing that come from happy giving. Those blessings come to those who give and who receive. We have facilitated in the enslavement of millions as we have pushed off our responsibilities to the government. Many are now enslaved by chains that are difficult to shake off, chains they will pass and have passed onto their children. Too many are enslaved by the chains of reliance on government. We too often let others do what we can and should be doing for ourselves. It is time to stop. If you have to rely on someone other than yourself, let it be your family. If your family cannot help, let it be your neighbors or church. If they cannot help, then gird up your loins and dig in and do it yourself. There is nothing in this life that you can't overcome with the help of God and a little elbow grease. The scriptures say to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling". I say that this relates not only to our spiritual salvation, but our temporal salvation as well. It is time to work out our own salvation. Work as if everything in this life depends on you, then pray as if everything in life depends on God. Where we fall short, that is where the Lord picks up and allows us to go farther than we ever thought possible on our own.

Wow, I get preachy sometimes. Oh well, it is your fault for reading it. Let's get away from the tithing attitude (boy that sounds bad...) and get into the fast offering attitude of giving all that we can, not just what we are required to do. All of us will benefit from that.